Tuesday, 6 December 2011

It was good to see Chris Coekin's The Altogether in the BJP's Top 10 Photobooks of 2011 - it comes with gatefold pages and has a continuous text running through it on the outer gatefold. The special edition also comes with a vinyl record. The book is inspired by union banners (which aren't in the book) and is something of a commentary on the closing of Britain. This is what Chris says about the book. The book is £20 and is available from mail@walkoutbooks.com or from the purveyors of evil here.

Well, I
really enjoy the photo book and think that it's a great way to disseminate work
and unlike exhibitions there is a longevity and you can reach a wider and more
diverse audience. For me though, the book has to feel that it's more than just
a vehicle to illustrate the images, actually much like an exhibition I suppose
in that a book needs curating too. I want the concept of the work to manifest
itself within the design and tactility of the book.

The
Altogether is inspired by manufacturing and the manual workers who make and
produce, craftsman who are skilled and work with their hands. I wanted to try
and engage the reader somehow with the book much more than just looking at the
images. The gatefolds make the reader work, in that you have to physically
discover the image, you have to work at it. The continuous gatefolds within the
book is actually a complicated binding process. The only way to achieve this
while keeping it hard back and stitched is to physically hand-fold the
gatefolds and trim them by hand. This, although logistically difficult to get
right (months of negotiating with the printers about what was achievable
and not...and basically me wanting something that they thought couldn't be
done) fits in with the context of the project. I like the idea that the books
have been through this manual process of production, much like the hands on
production that the factory workers do.

I also wanted a tactility to the book, the
cover is foil blocked and embossed so when you run your fingers over it you can
feel the design. The text is a verse that I have written, I like to use text
within my books, you may recall that it was a feature of my last book The
Hitcher in which I included text from my subjects and also a short story that I
had written. The book is also designed so that you can read the text from left
to right without opening the gatefolds, like a normal book.

The text
is featured on the vinyl record, it is recited by the workers in the factory,
and it appears as spoken word over the music that I produced from the factory
floor. I chose vinyl because it is essentially a manufacturing process that
hasn't changed since the invention of vinyl records, they are made in
factories.

It took
me a long time to source the typeface, I wanted something that felt a little
raw, well used and man made. Again this fits in with the context of the tools
that I photographed for the book.

Some of
the portraits are directly based upon Trade union banners and posters and some
are inspired by them. The banner painters are anonymous artisans and
unfortunately their paintings were never recognised by the art establishment.
Much like most working class people I was introduced to these paintings long
before accessing traditional paintings exhibited in most municipal museums and
galleries.

Presently
I'm now concentrating on getting it out there, it's really difficult doing it
alone. It has been well received so far and I have a couple of
reviews coming up. It's difficult getting the books out there, the photo book
world is very small actually.

I started
Walkout Books with The Hitcher which was in association with The Photographers'
Gallery. I learnt a lot with this book and indeed with Knock Three Times
published by Dewi Lewis. I have to say though that I have been fortunate in
that I have been able to attract external funding and grants so that I can
publish the books, otherwise it's far too expensive.

The
Hitcher has done really well though and essentially apart from what's out there
now there is no more to distribute, I have a personal small stock left that's
it. So this gave me the confidence to continue with Walkout and publish The
Altogether and I'm looking forward to where it takes me in the future.

My books
are also high quality offset printing. This is important to me that they are
professionally produced and have that quality, I want them to stand up against
the bigger publishers. I suppose it's also important for me that they
differentiate themselves from print on demand such as Blurb for example. I'm
not sure how I feel about these types of books, there are so many and I have
many students who produce books via them.

Monday, 5 December 2011

I am currently writing a labrynthine feature for the BJP about new publishers and am a little overwhelmed at the response and the range of what is out there. I have talked to so many lovely people and had so many email to-and-fros that I really have too much to talk about - not all have which is coherent.

I think it's that fractured sense of creativity, and the openness with which people are approaching publishing and bookmaking that is part of the delight of it; there is not one way of doing things, there is not one overwhelming authority of what is good, peope are coming at it from all sorts of different angles and there is a sense of a merging and overlapping of different streams of photography, arts, fashion and design - and that is a good thing.

I have experienced a diversity of thoughts and ideas and nearly all of it has been life-affirming and mind-expanding - people are opening doors, not closing them.

I started
publishing for a number of reasons. For a start I’m passionate about
photography, not just my own. I also love books and design. So for me it’s a
convergence of all these interests. Its an amazing chance for me to work with
amazing artists who inspire me, and I get to work with design and see a
finished product. Publishing is great in that it’s so renewable. Every book is
a chance to rejuvenate yourself, try a new style, do something bold. I began
designing exhibition catalogues before deciding that I wanted to build up a
base for different photographers. Around the same time I was becoming
disillusioned with the prevalence in mainstream photography and photo books
with landscape and portraiture. I love these styles but I felt that photography
of an urban nature, of the great Stieglitz tradition, was severely
underestimated and under-represented. I wanted to build a publishing house
around this. I’ve always been fascinated with urban photography especially and
wanted to give a platform to others who shared this passion. After a while I
decided to broaden the focus to different genres of photography but it began as
a dedication to urban photography of a sociological nature.

Who decides what gets published?

I decide
who gets published. Simple as that. I study Photography and am acutely aware of
the role of the publisher in often deciding what artists make it and what
artists don't. I am aware that publishing, and other institutional facets of
the art world, must balance this without being exclusive and discriminating.
However, I think for small publishers like The Velvet Cell, all we can really
do is invest in the artists who we share an affinity with.

What kind of books do you want to publish?

For the
past year I have published booklets, in a limited range of 100. They are small,
intimate and affordable. They afford the viewer a close experience with the
work on display. However, this year The Velvet Cell shall be moving on to
producing larger format books, enabling us to display the photographers in
questions work in larger detail, hopefully doing it more justice. All books
will be limited edition.

Why the urban and night time theme?

The urban
and nocturnal theme derives from how I fell into photography. I am very
interested in the urban environment and city-life. I have always been inspired
and captivated by photographers like Alfred Stieglitz who looked above
street-level and was obsessed with the form of the city, rather that the action
at street level. Like photographers Gregory Crewdson and Rut Blees Luxembourg I
have always been interested in themes of alienation and dislocation experienced
by people living in cities. When I moved to London in 2009 I spent a lot of
time with my camera trying to make sense of my new surroundings. East London,
in particular, is a post-industrial area where whole communities are re-evaluating
their identities in the wake of de-industrialisation. I found this fascinating
and a most interesting subject for my my photographic practices and for this
publishing house. My academic background in sociology has, without doubt, gone
a long way in shaping my interests.

Are there any other small publishers that inspired you?

Plenty.
PPP was a very early inspiration. I pick dup their book Tokyo a long time ago
and marvelled at its production for months afterwards. Right now Hassla are a
big inspiration but also Layflat for the sheer quality of their publications.
Rokov Publishing, a new independent imprint who released their first book this
year, is also doing great work around nocturnal and sociological work and is a
great inspiration.

Who designed the books?

The books
are designed and distributed by myself. Designing the books and trying new
things is one of my favourite parts of publishing.

Where did you have the books printed?

The
books, to date, have been printed by a small UK-based printer. But in the
future, for larger publications we will be using printers in both the Baltic
region and Hong Kong.

What made you decide to have them printed there?

A
relationship with your printer is one of the key elements to the success of any
publishers and you find that once you find one that you trust and who produces
good work you tend to stick with them. I was recommended them by others I
know in the publishing business.

How important was it to be at the printing?

Unfortunately,
due to many circumstances, including an overly busy schedule, Im rarely
available to be at the actual printing. It’s always a big regret but when you
trust your printer then you feel secure. For me it’s not the most important
factor, that is the design.

What are your upcoming publications?

We have
three big publications in the pipeline at the moment and are planning to begin
new venture of The Velvet Cell that publishes exclusively larger format books.
For the first one we are in the middle of arranging shows in both Los Angeles
and London to support it. I don't want to give out too much detail just yet but
we will also have two more smaller books coming out in the early months of the
new year,

How easy is it market and sell the books?

Marketing
the books and selling them is perhaps the most challenging aspect and certainly
takes up far more time than you'd imagine. Obviously reputation is a massive
thing and as your back catalogue grows more people come to know and trust your
publications. Quality always has to come first and I’d rather produce quality
publications that I believe in and be unknown to most than to compromise
quality and sacrifice what I believe in. For marketing it’s a matter of
contacting as many people as you know that would be interested and hoping that
word spreads.

There are many small, new photobook companies. Why is this do you think?

There is
certainly a boom. I suppose for many reasons. Firstly the internet facilitates
publishers to exist with no physical location necessary such as a bookshop.
Therefore expenditure is vastly reduced. Secondly printing costs, in general,
are both cheaper and more accessible than say ten years ago. The internet brings
people together and connects people with similar interests. I think the
interest in photo books and independent imprints has always been there but just
now it is easier to do. This also goes hand in hand with the fact that
photography is more accessible now for everyone. Everyone has a camera now, on
their phone or a point and shoot. Even SLRs have reduced massively in price and
people don't need to be educated about aperture and printing to be able to be a
photographer. So there is a glut of new emerging photographers out there and
the old publishing system, that still prevails either isn't equipped to deal
with them all or there simply isn't a market for all to be published. It’s
certainly a challenge to the established standards.